In general, a golf club, either an iron-style or wood-style club, includes a golf club head that is attached to a shaft through a hosel disposed at or near the heel of the golf club head. The hosel is normally formed integral with a cast club head of the iron or so-called metal wood type to extend generally upwardly at an appropriate angle from the heel end of the golf club head. The hosel is suitably cast or machined to define an open-ended and generally cylindrical, upwardly open hosel bore.
In order to provide improved characteristics in the golf club head such as increasing the overall size of the club head, expanding the sweet spot, enhancing the moment of inertia and optimizing the club head center of gravity location, modifications have been made to the hosel portion of golf clubs. Certain golf club arrangements use inserts or other structures in conjunction with the hosel to change properties of the golf club.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,993 is directed to a hosel interface that is inserted in a hosel that has been formed integral with a club head. The hosel interface includes various sections including an insertable section that is inserted into the hosel, a shaft receptacle opposite the insertable section for receiving the shaft and an integral bendable section between the shaft receptacle and the insertable section. An exterior shoulder is provided between the bendable section and the insertable section, and the bendable section is bent to alter the angle between the club head and the shaft. Although the hosel interface provides for a degree of adjustment of the angle between the shaft and the club head, the hosel is still formed integrally with the club head and the hosel interface is a separate structure that adds additional weight to the club that could adversely affect the moment of inertia (MOI) and center of gravity of the golf club. In addition, the shaft does not extent into the hosel, creating a potentially weakened area adjacent the club head that could lead to increased and undesirable flex at the shaft and club head interface.
Other attempts at varying the angles between the shaft and the club head utilize interchangeable hosels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,994 is directed to interchangeable hosels for golf clubs to customize the golf club for the purposes of shot control. A plurality of hosels is provided, and each hosel contains a shaft receiving opening. The angle and direction at which the opening extends from a pivot point is adjusted to customize the golf club assembly for each individual golfer. Therefore, each one of the plurality of hosels offers a different longitudinal angle, such as the face angle, and a different lie angle. The hosel is securely retained within a bore in the golf club head using suitable adhesives. However, the hosels are relatively large and heavy structures that add weight to the heel of the club. In addition, each hosel represents a single, distinct angle that cannot be changed once the hosel is inserted. Moreover, the hosel is attached using adhesives, which makes the replacement of the existing hosel more difficult.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,851,155 and 5,951,411 are directed to golf clubs having interchangeable shafts and interchangeable hosels. The hosel includes a plug member that is received within an opening in the heel of the club head. The plug member includes a threaded opening for receiving a screw to secure the hosel to the club head. The hosel is selected to provide a desired club lie angle and club face angle. Again, the hosel represents a large structure that adds significant weight to the heel end of the club head. In addition, each hosel represents a single, distinct shaft angle. Therefore, a large number of hosels will be required to provide for significant variety in shaft angles.
Since the hosel presents a substantial off-center mass located at the heel end of the club head, attempts to optimize balanced weighting of the club head with hosel arrangements have been developed to decrease the effects of the hosel on the overall weighting of the golf club head. For example in commonly owned, co-pending U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0282653, a golf club is disclosed that includes a club head having a passage there through from the crown to the sole in proximity to the heel. A separate bore-through hosel insert is retained within this passage and retained therein in known fashion, such as by adhesives. The shaft is positioned and retained within the bore-through hosel insert. To better control the club head center of gravity and moment of inertia, the bore-through hosel insert has a low mass. However, the bore-through hosel does not provide for adjustments to the angle between the shaft and the club head. In addition, by being attached using adhesives, the hosel does not provide for ease of removal or interchangeability with other hosels.
Existing attempts at providing for modifications to a golf club head typically focus on changes to a single factor, e.g. weight or shaft angle, while ignoring other factors. For example, adjustments to the hosel of a golf club are made to provide for adjustments in the angle between club head and the shaft while adversely affecting the weight balance in the club head. Other examples provide for light weight hosels but not for interchangeable hosels. There remains a need for a hosel that provides easy interchangeability of both the hosel and the shaft and adjustments to the angle between the club head and the shaft through bending without adversely affecting the structure or looks of the golf club. In addition, an interchangeable hosel is desired that provides for adjustments to the flex or stiffness at the end of the shaft without changing the weight characteristics of the golf club.